When life throws a curve ball fear can result.
Listen to today’s podcast #74 and discover Five Ways to Build Faith to Live Bravely and Love boldly despite the storms in your life.
Podcast: Play in new window
The Power of Prayer
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!” (Ephesians 3:20–21 NIV, my emphasis)
Immeasurably more. Her eyes ran over those words and then lingered for a while. Immeasurably more. God can do immeasurably more than she could ever ask or imagine, according to HIS POWER.
She pondered on her faded prayers that had once been filled with so much passion.
A season of storms sabotaged her prayer life, making it small. Like the force of hurricane winds loosening the roots of a tall tree, the storms of life shook her faith to the core. The enemy lied to her heart about the storms and told her that God was not powerful . . . and her prayers faded.
She felt afraid. She thought about her past year and the loss she had experienced. The loss in her life combined with her fragile faith made her feel powerless. Her insecurity swallowed her confidence. In response, her soul grasped for security by clinging too tightly to the people in her life, and she began to walk under the false illusion of control.
This led to more insecurity and fear because when she tried to control her circumstances, her circumstances began to control her. Worry, fear, and anger surfaced as she tried to control what ultimately she could not.
And she was weary.
The Lord looked at his brave heart with love. No storm could ever separate them. He nourished her heart with truth and reminded her of the power of prayer. With tears in her eyes, she sank to the floor and let her prayers flow. People were there for her to love, but they could never give the security and life she was looking for.
This world is a battlefield. It took time but she won the war on her knees. So will you. That is godly girl power.
Godly girl power flows from great expectations laid at the feet of our mighty God, who can do “immeasurably more” than we could ever ask in prayer.
EXPAND your prayer life this week to reflect the greatness of our Almighty God.
Self-Sabotaging Your Prayer Life
Sometimes we can “self-sabotage” our prayer life because we pray based on what we think we deserve instead of WHO GOD IS. The enemy can use a storm, our past, or even our religious traditions to keep our prayers small.
Don’t let the enemy fool you, wise woman.
Pray prayers based on WHO GOD IS and remain faithful regardless of the outcome. Don’t filter your prayers through what you think you deserve—let your prayers flow like a mighty river and let God filter the results through his pure and perfect will to bring glory to his name.
Hey, brave heart, take this challenge with me: Revitalize your prayer life this week by recapturing the awe of your God.
God Is the Source of Your Strength
The God you serve is an “immeasurably more” God. Yahweh is the source of your strength. The Lord is his name. King of kings. Lord of lords. He is a strong tower. A fortress. He is mighty to save. The winds and waves obey his commands. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come” (Revelation 4:8). He is Lord over all. “For from him and through him and for him are all things.” (Romans 11:36)
Humility is not hiding safely behind small prayers and safe expectations.
True humility is depending on God and not your own strength. It’s releasing the results of your prayer by resting in his love. It’s praying “that from his glorious unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through HIS Spirit.” (Ephesians 3:16, emphasis mine). Humility opens a highway to release heaven’s resources to you.
So, wise woman, this week pray powerfully and push past the perimeters of your thinking. You are here to bring God glory. Open your eyes wide and look out through the lens of faith. Stretch your thinking beyond the barriers of labels and limitations that have stopped you before.
Great expectations in our mighty God through prayer give us the freedom to let go of trying to extract from people what only God can give us.
When our expectations rest in the Lord, we can let go of others to truly love them.
Much as a watering can must be filled before it can pour water out and bring nourishment to plants, we must first be filled with his love to give love out. And as the watering can pours out to others, a greater capacity is created to receive even more. When we are trying to extract from people what only God can give us—it is as if we are watering cans going to other watering cans trying to find water.
You can see this same flow in the letter of Ephesians and our Nourish Scripture this week (Ephesians 3:16–4:6). Paul begins by encouraging the Ephesians to love God and receive his love for themselves. Then he encourages them to live a life worthy of their calling by giving others the same love their heavenly father gives them.
“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” (Mark 12:30–31)
Agape love is not something we manufacture—
it is something we receive from our Maker and release to others.
Strength, power, security, and fullness of life result from a heart rooted in real love.
Nourish Your Heart with Bold Prayer
Think of bold prayer as positioning yourself to fill your watering can to nourish your heart so you can nurture others. To have some understanding of God’s love, we must experience it. To experience it, we must receive it.
Each time we experience his power in answered prayer pushes the roots of our soul deeper into his love and makes us strong as we trust in Him. Only when Christ becomes seated at the center of our heart through the humility of prayer and our roots are deep in his love can we truly love others with his love. And that is godly girl power (Ephesians 3:14–21).
Prayer will grow your roots deep in God’s love because you are placing your trust in him. When your roots are deep in God’s love, you will bear the fruit of his love to others.
Do you hear it, brave heart? Your Heavenly Father is calling. A suitable and settled life won’t do inside this world that needs to be saturated with love—his love. Remember, we are in a battle. The most powerful force on this earth is love. This is godly girl power. This is the life you were called to live.
You have only one life. Pray with great expectation. Live a life worthy of your calling by receiving his love and giving it to others. Fall on your knees in prayer and trust the one who can bless you beyond measure so you can be a blessing to others.
That war you are fighting will be won with you on your knees.
Nourish Scripture: Ephesians 3:14–4:6
Blog written by Aliene Thompson. Aliene Thompson is the founder of Treasured Ministries and the Author of the Nourish Bible Study Series. © 2019 Treasured Ministries.
Leaving Labels
We live in a world made up of labels. We love them when they make everything feel tidy and organized. Labels are everywhere telling us what to expect and are indeed helpful in identifying things. But I am not talking about the labels that are on our cans of green beans or the labels that we put on our notebooks.
I am talking about the labels that other people might put on us.
It could be a nickname we were bullied with, or could be from something else in our past. Often these labels are lies that the enemy is feeding us. It changes the way that we live because of patterns that we have kept for a long time. Those are just some examples of where labels like I will always be this, or I will always be that come from.
They seem to stick, and we appear to let them because sometimes even we start to believe them. And with that comes the danger of losing who we are in Christ and the identity, or label, that he has given to us.
The truth about who you are can be found as you listen to and are led by
the Holy Spirit and wear the beautiful labels that he has for you.
Living out Our Authentic Identity
When you and I live out of our authentic identity, we have confidence and direction to become all God created us to be. And when we know the truth about who God says we are it becomes harder and harder for the labels of the enemy to stick to us.
In Ephesians 2:11-3:6 we see Paul talking to the Gentile Christians. He is describing to them the unity that they have in Christ. He is explaining to them the gift of the Body of Christ, and that they are one in Christ. They are not outsiders anymore. We are brought into a family and called to unity as a result of that.
Ephesians 2:14-15 speaks of broken down walls and peace.
“For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.”
Even within the Body labels were being used as weapons amongst believers. But Jesus came to break walls down not build them up.
So if labels are inevitable, what do we do when they are thrown at us?
Remember RIC to help you leave your labels:
REMEMBER:
Remember that you cannot control what other people think or say about you. You cannot control if other people are operating under a legalistic mindset. You can’t control that, but you can control you.
IMAGINE:
Imagine labels like a ball somebody throws to you. If someone tosses a label on you, if they make a judgment about you, visualize it as a ball and catch it in your hand. Then examine that label and say “Does this label line up with the truth of who God says I am?” The way you handle labels when you are met with one makes all the difference. Does what someone is saying line up with what God says about you? No? Then it has no place in your life.
CHOOSE:
Choose your own labels and find liberty in them! The thing is, we really don’t have control of what other people say about us. We don’t. We do have control over which labels we are going to allow to define us. There is power in claiming our identity in Christ.
You and I want to live out of the labels that we receive from Christ. The key to doing that is choosing your own labels. In doing this, you walk under God’s power instead of giving power to the labels others place on you.
Nourish Scripture: Ephesians 2:11-3:6
Blog written by Aliene Thompson. Aliene Thompson is the founder of Treasured Ministries and the Author of the Nourish Bible Study Series. © 2019 Treasured Ministries.
#73 Four Keys to Let go of Labels and Live Out of Your Authentic Identity (Eph 2.11 – 3.6)
Labels that others slap on us can carry strength if we are not careful.
In today’s podcast Episode #73 discover four steps to take to walk in your God given identity, so you can become the woman God created you to be.
Podcast: Play in new window
#72 Five Ways to Respond to Emotion Commotion to Stay Focused on Your Purpose(Eph 2:1-10)
Emotions are part of what makes us human, but when they become so strong that they blind us from making wise decisions, it can cause emotion commotion.
Discover 5 steps to handle emotional strongholds in today’s podcast episode #72 so that you can remain steadfast in your purpose.
Podcast: Play in new window
The Storm of Emotional Strongholds
Like a strong unforgiving riptide, emotions can carry us in a direction we don’t want to go. Yesterday I faced challenge after challenge.
I felt frustrated.
I felt overwhelmed.
The wheels came off the bus…I cried! My whirling emotions distracted me and resulted in a most unproductive day.
Can you relate?
Feelings Can Steal Our Godly Girl Power
Sometimes feelings are not kind friends. They can steal away our godly girl power if we are driven by our desires instead of directed by the Holy Spirit.
Nothing makes me feel more powerless than when I face an emotional stronghold. A strong force of emotions welling up in us stirs up a commotion.
- Fear.
- Anxiety.
- Anger.
- Frustration.
Think about those moments when you lose your temper or respond unkindly to someone.
I want to be a wise woman that walks not under the power of my emotions but by the power of the Holy Spirit. If my emotions are in the driver’s seat, how can I be led by the Holy Spirit?
But let’s get honest. Strong emotions are impossible to avoid, aren’t they? Emotions aren’t bad. You’ll always have them. They make us human. God gave us emotions. They are a part of our soul. God had emotions also. But when our emotions become strongholds in our life, when they are in the driver’s seat of our decisions – that’s when they can create problems.
The Enemy Creates Emotional Strongholds
Emotions alert us to needs within our soul, but they are never a reliable source of truth.
You see, we serve a God who loves us and wants us to be led by the Holy Spirit so we can fulfill the God–given purpose he planned for us long ago. But we also have an enemy that would love nothing more than to distract us and derail us from doing what God wants us to do. And he loves to create emotional strongholds in our life by using just the right lies to create that current to pull you away from your purpose. I know this. I’ve been there.
The world thinks of power and freedom as the strength to do whatever we want. But in God’s economy, power and freedom come from walking in obedience to God for his glory. Freedom is not following our desires and doing whatever we want to do. It is being a wise woman and being led by the Holy Spirit.
I want to be wise – don’t you?
The truth is, brave heart, we are not going to stop feeling those emotions—and that is not our goal. Our goal is to find ways we can face those emotions and remain steadfast to do what God has called us to do. The big choice is this: Who will be in the driver’s seat,my feelings or the Holy Spirit?
Bring Your Emotions to God
You don’t have to hide your emotions and try to handle them on your own. Bring them to God, brave heart, and gain his perspective to walk in the truth. Let’s get wise by learning and choosing God’s way to walk in your God-given destiny and make a difference.
One look into the book of Psalms and we see how David was not afraid to pour out his emotions. He got angry, depressed, overwhelmed, frustrated; all of that and more.
The book of Psalms reminds me that God can handle my emotions. He can help me sort through that strong force and get God’s perspective. I am not alone when that storm hits my soul. The Psalms also remind me that God does not condemn me when I have negative emotions or desires. He wants me to bring them to him so I can get his help instead of hiding them or trying to handle them on my own.
Brave heart, don’t let the enemy steal one bit of that godly girl power. When a strong current of emotions hits your heart, reach out to Jesus for clear direction to stay steady on the path of your purpose.
ONWARD!
Nourish Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10
Blog written by Aliene Thompson. Aliene Thompson is the founder of Treasured Ministries and the Author of the Nourish Bible Study Series. © 2019 Treasured Ministries.
#71 Surrender is a Gateway to Freedom – 3 Steps to Let Go (Ephesians 1)
While I know that surrender is my gateway to freedom, if I am honest, sometimes I have trouble letting go.
In today’s podcast, Episode #71 discover three keys to letting go so you can live the life God intended you to live.
Podcast: Play in new window
The Power of Pausing
Live on purpose by pausing from life’s pressures to plug into the limitless power that flows from the presence of Jesus.
She Was a Warrior
She was a warrior. In fact, she had been fighting all her life. Fighting to prove herself. Fighting to keep everyone happy with her by always saying yes. Fighting to keep the peace by compliance. Fighting to survive. And slowly over time . . . she lost her identity as she changed who she was to please those who surrounded her.
She gave up her power by surrendering to people instead of her Savior.
But God loved her and would not leave her this way. She was a treasure. He had chosen her. It gave him great joy to adopt her as his child. He never intended her to be a victim of her circumstances or other people. She was his daughter. He intended her to live for His glory and love others by walking in the strength that only he could provide.
But she had to be taught a new way to think and live. She had to learn that her power was not outside her in the form of other people.
The power was within her through the Holy Spirit.
This was important. Whatever we see as our source of power also controls us. If she recognized him as her source, she would be free to live for him.
She Had Godly Girl Power
Godly girl power was a part of her inheritance. Like a holy thread connecting her to heaven, the presence and power of Jesus within her was a confident hope she could hold onto in this broken world—hope that a great and glorious inheritance was yet to come (Ephesians 1:14).
Yet while she lived in this broken world, she would need God’s all-surpassing power to walk in her purpose. This power was the same power he had used to defeat sin and death by raising Christ on the third day (Ephesians 1:19-20). This power was nothing she earned. He freely gave it through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13).
Having this power and using this power were two different issues altogether. Even though she was his daughter, she was used to thinking like an orphan. She was used to depending on herself and other people. While she had godly girl power within her, the old ways she had used to find strength when she was far away from God had become familiar ruts in her thinking and gave way to comfortable bad habits.
Her journey to change her source of power would begin with her mind. He was calling her to live differently by retreating and renewing her mind instead of trying to change her behavior.
Renew Your Mind by Pausing Each Day
Power always comes from a source. Godly girl power comes only from God himself. To plug into God’s power, we must pause and pull into his presence daily.
An expert archer keeps his arrows in his quiver, close to him, so he can sharpen and polish them, releasing them again and again with power, purpose, and precision. Like the expert archer, God is calling his daughters to retreat into his presence to prepare and position their heart to be released for his glory.
Wherever you are in your walk with God, you are never too far along to retreat inside God’s quiver and share sacred times close to him. It is in his quiver, concealed and sharpened, that we plug into godly girl power and our hearts are released to live for his glory.
The world is a battlefield where brave hearts make a difference. Come away in his quiver, brave heart. The sole purpose of the Treasured Devotions is to inspire you to connect with God through his Word so you may live aimed and active in your God-given purpose.
Renewing our minds is a lifetime process that brings transformation because our faith and action always walk hand in hand.
Paul began his letter to the Ephesians by reminding those believers of key beliefs about God and their inheritance in Christ. Ten years earlier when Paul had founded and discipled this church for two years, I am certain he taught these same fundamental truths. Paul started with belief, not behavior. I believe Paul knew this truth: renewing our minds is never a one and done deal. Paul started with belief …
What do you start with, braveheart?
Nourish Scripture: Ephesians 1
Take the next steps by downloading Nourishing Your Heart to learn how to connect with God’s Word in a way that transforms your life and helps you become the woman you’re meant to be.
Blog written by Aliene Thompson. Aliene Thompson is the founder of Treasured Ministries and the Author of the Nourish Bible Study Series. © 2019 Treasured Ministries.
